Yes, this season didn't go the way wanted it to. However...

Submitted by MGomaha on

This season was disappointing, on so many levels. Injuries to some promising young guys, guys getting kicked off the team, losing... lots of losing.

But, there were a lot of bright spots. Yes, the point of playing football is to win football games, and Brady Hoke did not do that well enough and will lose his job for it. However, I will applaud coach Hoke for the types of guys he has recruited and the types of values this program (for the most part, i.e. Gibbons) has had under him.

I'm going to user Devin Gardner as an example: 59.5% completion percentage. 42 touchdowns. 31 interceptions. 15-14 as a starter.

These are not great statistics for a quarterback here. They are not the standard, nor will they ever be. But these statistics are vastly more important:

Graduate of the University of Michigan in 3.5 years. Soon to be a TWO TIME graduate of the University of Michigan. Countless hours of helping around the community. A finalist for an award recognizing on and off the field excellence. 

There are a lot of people who criticize Devin's performance on the field, and rightfully so.  But there is much, much more to life than Michigan Football. This is something 95% of Michigan fans understand and doesn't really need to be repeated, but there are always a few bad apples.

I'll always root for Devin Gardner in whatever he does because I truly believe he embodies everything that is right about Michigan. And what he embodies is the whole reason I care so deeply about that program and school.

Thank you Devin, Jake, and the rest of the seniors who did so much for this team and this program.

Go Blue.

MGoBoard
Football
Devin Gardner
thank you
real life
just a game

BloomingtonBlue

November 29th, 2014 at 6:06 PM ^

Jesus we live in a crazy world. Winning honestly isn't the number goal for some people. Find a nice D3 school to like where it's really all about academics you'll love it.



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Wendyk5

November 29th, 2014 at 6:16 PM ^

Of course winning is the number one goal. But when you lose, how do you handle it? Do you cry and whine or do you try to glean somethng positive and move on? The only thing that's going to change the losing is something we have little control over - a wholesale program change. 

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BloomingtonBlue

November 29th, 2014 at 6:20 PM ^

Have you seen the South Park episode where they talk about how tree hugging hippies need conservative war goers and vice versa. We have to have the people who are going to bitch and be angry until the day it happens or it honestly won't happen.



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State Street

November 29th, 2014 at 6:12 PM ^

I'm thankful that the Brady Hoke era fell apart just as the Harbaugh era appears to be sputtering to an end in San Francisco.  Even if it doesn't materialze, it will make for a very fun next couple of weeks. 

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MI fan in MT

November 29th, 2014 at 6:21 PM ^

of angry people on this thread. I think this is a good post. No one (at least I assume) is advocating for keeping Hoke, but if you are so blinded by this bad season to see that there are good aspects to this team, then you may as well give up on being a fan. I'm happy that it is basketball season, and I'm waiting to see what Hackett will do

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Stringer Bell

November 29th, 2014 at 8:51 PM ^

What good aspects?  That the kids graduated?  Or they always practiced hard?  As if Brady Hoke's the only coach that can graduate kids.

 

This team sucked, period.  There's no sugar coating it, and the fact that we're searching for any moral victories we can find is just further proof of how much damage Hoke has done to this program.  

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LSAClassOf2000

November 29th, 2014 at 6:23 PM ^

One of the recurring themes throughout the season, almost regardless of the deep dive or analysis done on the blog, was that we had this situation where a lot of good players were on this very underachieving team, a team that was nowhere near its collective potential. This seems to always point to coaching in many respects, but I do agree with the OP - there were some bright spots and some great potential shown on and off the field.

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Brimley

November 29th, 2014 at 6:26 PM ^

...but sometimes it's needed.  More than a few folks need to remember that it's fucking football. It's entertainment for us which augments the positives and takes the rough edges off the negatives in the things that REALLY matter.  Of course it's more fun when your team wins, but it's also good to know that I got a degree from a place that doesn't completely turn a blind eye to its core purpose, instead toward guys who ain't come to play school at a place where everybody murders.  I'm a ridiculous optimist and think we'll soon have a team that wins games AND makes us proud of the men who make it up.  In the meantime, it's fine to celebrate guys like Devin who give up a rare Saturday night to help a sick girl.  If that's my daughter, you can take your "UNACCEPTABLES!!!"  and shove them up your ass.

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schreibee

November 29th, 2014 at 6:41 PM ^

I'm on the android app, in my recliner, enjoying a beverage... but I swear I'm THIS CLOSE to getting up and firing up my laptop so I can upvote these 2 posts! Perspective baby, it's a bitch when all you really care about from the University of Michigan is football (and maybe basketball?)

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Maizinator

November 29th, 2014 at 6:37 PM ^

Personally, I don't care for the Hoke bashing.   His record isn't going to cut it at Michigan and for that he should expect to be replaced.  I would not argue differently.  I personally think his teams would improve from here, but he doesn't have the "IT" factor that will take the team to elite status.

That said, there is no reason to treat him like the antichrist and I don't think he's run a bad program.  People should really stop the Clark and York comments.  Those guys did what they did and he booted them off the team for it.  Bo probably would have done the same.  I think the staff has made a concerted effort to try to recruit high quality kids as opposed to win at all costs.  As a long time Michigan fan, I appreciate that.  It's not enough on its own, but I appreciate it.

I say evaluate him fairly and make the change.  But, treat him with respect and give him credit for the things that he has done well and his attempt to do the right things for Michigan.   I hope he gets another chance to be a head coach and has success.  If I had a son playing football, he could do a lot worse than playing for Hoke.

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Stringer Bell

November 29th, 2014 at 8:55 PM ^

So you'd want your son playing for a guy whose head is so far up his oversized rear end that he doesn't realize when his quarterback is showing concussion-like symptoms on the football field?  I would honestly be shocked if he got another shot at being a HC, he's just so very, very bad at everything that the job entails.

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Jimmyisgod

November 29th, 2014 at 6:37 PM ^

This season was a nightmare, on the field, off the field, in recruiting, in the press, just a nightmare.  Pretending there is a bunch to be positive about is shining a turd.

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schreibee

November 29th, 2014 at 6:50 PM ^

Wow! Ya know, DG comes from what I guess would qualify as the "hood" - is your presumption that unless you turn out more like Frank Clark than Devin then you're not our type of player? Because I'm pretttty sure that's what Larry Foote was suggesting. Or did you just figure it was cooler to omit the obligatory /s?

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CoachBP6

November 30th, 2014 at 12:11 AM ^

Honestly I'm tired of being a step behind in athletes. We do need to go into more urban areas and recruit for football. Larry foote is closer to this program than either of us, and I feel he has a valid claim to a degree. If we ever want to be a consistent, dominating force like bama, Ohio, fsu, we need to recruit the same athletes at the skill positions.

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Huma

November 29th, 2014 at 6:44 PM ^

Honest question: Does anyone think OSU's roster is more stacked than M's going forward (excluding QB for now)?

Hole should be fired. However, he has at least kept pace with Urban in recruiting for the rest of the roster.



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CoachBP6

November 29th, 2014 at 6:46 PM ^

Phew... For a second i thought this was going to be another "next year will be so much better bc our roster was mostly freshman and sophomores this year" thread.

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KC Wolve

November 29th, 2014 at 6:52 PM ^

Sorry, but these last few years have been disasters and Hoke was steering the ship. He should have never gotten the job and was pretty terrible at it. He was also paid millions. I don't feel sorry for him at all. He'll be just fine.

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MgoPleaseChange

November 29th, 2014 at 7:02 PM ^

I started posting again at the wrong time, I called out people for bitching constantly a week ago and got more bitching and the dreaded "down vote" (oh no) for it. Either way, glad to see people finally realizing that Hoke isn't a piece of shit that cratered the program. And that there is much more to life than football wins and losses.

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theblueisback

November 29th, 2014 at 7:34 PM ^

Your post just made me pour another basks of bulleit... We are supposed to be a college football school and we have not been "that" for a long time.. Winning is everything!! Let's pray UM pays someone some serious $$$$$$$$ and that person comes in and destroys everyone... Killin me!!!!!

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